Luxembourg Calls for Greater Cooperation at EU Health Meeting

On Thursday 1 October 2026, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Health and Social Security reported on the participation of Martine Deprez, Minister of Health and Social Security, on Wednesday 30 September and Thursday 1 October in the informal meeting of European Union health ministers (EPSCO Health), organised as part of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The ministry reported that discussions focused on three main areas: innovation and life sciences, prevention and integrated care, and the European pharmaceutical ecosystem.

“Whether it concerns innovation, prevention or access to medicines, our priority must remain the same: ensuring that European advances translate into better access to healthcare for patients in all Member States, regardless of their size. To achieve this, we need to place greater emphasis on cooperation, sharing expertise and forward planning,” said Minister Deprez.

During discussions on innovation and life sciences, Minister Deprez stressed the importance of facilitating multinational clinical trials so that patients in all Member States can benefit from advances in research. Luxembourg particularly advocated strengthening European cooperation and increasing cross-border participation in clinical trials, especially in the field of rare diseases.

Luxembourg’s Minister of Health and Social Security also stressed the need to ensure equitable access to future European biomanufacturing capacities, including for Member States that do not themselves have a developed industrial ecosystem.

As part of the discussions on prevention and integrated care, Luxembourg welcomed the European Safe Hearts Plan, which is aligned with the priorities of its national cardio-neurovascular plan. Minister Deprez highlighted the added value of common European prevention tools, while allowing each Member State to adapt them to its own healthcare system.

She also emphasised continuity between prevention, early detection and patient follow-up. In this context, Minister Deprez referred to Luxembourg’s planned regular health check-up programme, with a pilot phase scheduled for 2027, as well as the need to take better account of differences between women and men in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Moreover, the ministers discussed the evolution of the European pharmaceutical ecosystem in a changing international context. Martine Deprez recalled that, given the size of our market, decisions on launches, pricing or withdrawals taken in neighbouring markets can have a direct impact on access to medicines. Voluntary cooperation on joint procurement is therefore particularly important for Luxembourg. In this context, Luxembourg advocated strengthening voluntary cooperation initiatives such as Beneluxa (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria and Ireland), as well as improving information sharing at European level on medicine launches, withdrawals and supply risks. The aim is to enable Member States to better anticipate market developments and respond more quickly when a risk to access to medicines arises.